Mock Product Manager Interview (Google PM): Google/Amazon Video Strategy
Summary
TLDRIn a live mock interview at 'five this Expo p.m.', David Schlossberg, a seasoned product manager, discusses the strategic considerations for Google launching a competitor to Amazon Prime Video. He suggests that rather than direct competition, Google could leverage its ecosystem to offer a unique bundle of services. The conversation delves into product strategy, market competition, and the role of product managers in decision-making at Google, highlighting the importance of quick thinking and strategic vision in the tech industry.
Takeaways
- 😀 David Schlossberg, with 15 years of experience as a product manager, emphasizes the importance of combining technical background with business strategy in product management.
- 🔍 The mock interview format is designed to simulate real product management interviews, focusing on strategic thinking and vision for product direction.
- 🎥 The interviewee suggests that Google should not launch a direct competitor to Amazon Prime Video but could offer a unique bundle of services to compete with Amazon Prime.
- 🤔 The discussion highlights the need to consider the different stakeholders involved in a strategic move and how they might be affected.
- 💡 Google's potential strategy could involve leveraging its existing platforms like YouTube and Google Music, along with additional benefits like extra cloud storage, to create a competitive package.
- 🚫 The interviewee argues against Google investing heavily in original content production, as it's not aligned with Google's typical business model.
- 📈 The importance of having a unique selling proposition (USP) when entering a competitive market is stressed, as it helps to differentiate the product from existing offerings.
- 💡 Ideas such as offering offline video playback on Android devices or including free downloads as part of a subscription are suggested as potential differentiators.
- 🛑 The potential negative impact on Google's ad revenue and its advertisers is considered a significant factor in not offering an ad-free Google search as part of a subscription.
- 🏁 The interview wraps up with a discussion on the importance of quick thinking and maintaining composure during product management interviews, especially at companies like Google.
- 📝 The takeaway for interviewees is to prepare well, organize thoughts, and be ready to adapt and respond to unexpected questions or counterarguments during the interview.
Q & A
What is the main topic of the mock interview in the video script?
-The main topic of the mock interview is discussing whether Google should launch a competitor to Amazon Prime Video and exploring the strategic implications of such a decision.
Who is the interviewee in the mock interview?
-The interviewee is David Schlossberg, a former Google PM with about 15 years of experience in product management.
What is David Schlossberg's background according to the script?
-David Schlossberg started his career in software development, got his master's degree, and then discovered product management. He has worked at various startups, Google, and for the past five years, has been managing teams of product managers.
What is the role of the interviewer in the mock interview?
-The interviewer's role is to ask questions about product strategy, simulate a real interview environment, and provide feedback and closing notes after the session.
Why does David believe Google should not launch a direct competitor to Amazon Prime Video?
-David believes Google should not launch a direct competitor because Google's model does not involve spending heavily on content production like Amazon and Netflix do, and there is already a lot of competition in the market with unique hooks that Google lacks.
What alternative strategy does David suggest for Google instead of directly competing with Amazon Prime Video?
-David suggests that Google could offer a different kind of competitive product by bundling ad-free YouTube with a free subscription to Google Music, extra cloud storage, free apps, and other Google products to create a unique package that competes with Amazon Prime.
What is the importance of product strategy questions in a product management interview?
-Product strategy questions are important as they test a product manager's ability to think strategically about the direction of products and product vision, which is a crucial part of product management.
What are some factors that David thinks would not differentiate a video product in the market?
-David mentions that factors such as video quality (e.g., 1080p vs. 4k resolution) and the ability to download videos quickly are not significant differentiators unless targeting a niche audience with specific needs.
How does David approach the idea of offering a unique proposition to compete with Amazon Prime Video?
-David suggests leveraging Google's existing services and products, such as offering Google search without ads or additional storage space, to create a compelling offer that encourages users to switch to Google for their digital service needs.
What is David's advice for interviewees when faced with on-the-spot questions in a mock interview?
-David advises taking the time to write down ideas and brainstorm before responding, as it helps to organize thoughts and provide a more structured answer during the interview.
How does the level of strategic freedom for product managers at Google compare to other companies, according to David's experience?
-According to David, Google offers more strategic freedom to product managers compared to other companies he has worked at, allowing them to think about problems and solutions in their own way rather than being strictly instructed what to do.
Outlines
🎙️ Introduction to the Mock Interview
The video script begins with the host introducing the live mock interview session at 'five this Expo p.m.', acknowledging potential technical lags. The guest, David Schlossberg, a seasoned product manager with experience at Google and various startups, is invited to introduce himself. The host outlines the format of the session, which includes a product strategy question, a mock interview, and feedback. Viewers are encouraged to participate through likes, comments, and subscriptions, indicating the value they find in the content.
🚀 Discussing Google's Strategy on Video Services
In this paragraph, the discussion revolves around whether Google should launch a competitor to Amazon Prime Video. David suggests that Google should not directly compete but instead could offer a unique bundle of services, such as ad-free YouTube, Google Music, additional cloud storage, and other Google products, to compete with Amazon Prime's ecosystem. He emphasizes considering the perspectives of Google's users and the competitive landscape, noting that Google's strength lies in its vast array of services rather than investing heavily in content production like Amazon and Netflix.
🤔 Strategic Decision Making at Google
The conversation explores the strategic decision-making process if Google were to enter the video content space. David discusses the importance of understanding what would convince users to choose Google's services over existing options. He mentions the potential of creating unique content, leveraging user data for targeted advertising, and offering services at a lower price point. The paragraph also touches on the challenges of competing with established players like Netflix and Amazon, and the need for a distinct value proposition.
🔑 Differentiating Google's Product Offering
This section delves into how Google could differentiate its product from Amazon's. David suggests that performance, such as video streaming quality, may not be a significant differentiator. Instead, he proposes ideas like offering offline video playback on Android devices or including additional benefits like free video games with a video service subscription. The focus is on finding small, unique features that could make Google's offering stand out in a crowded market.
🛒 The Impact of Ads on Google's Product Strategy
The discussion shifts to the role of advertisements in Google's revenue model and how it influences product strategy. David explains that while offering an ad-free Google search could be appealing to users, it could negatively impact Google's ad revenue and make the platform less attractive to advertisers. The conversation highlights the balance between user experience and maintaining a profitable business model.
💡 Broader Perspectives on Competitive Product Strategy
In the final paragraph, David shares insights on how companies, including startups, should approach competitive product strategy. He emphasizes the importance of understanding the market's capacity for multiple competitors and identifying a unique selling proposition. David also discusses the strategic freedom product managers have at Google compared to other companies, noting that Google encourages product managers to think independently and contribute to the product's direction.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Product Manager
💡Product Strategy
💡Mock Interview
💡Amazon Prime Video
💡YouTube
💡Content Production
💡Competitive Advantage
💡Google Drive
💡Google Music
💡Ad-Free Experience
💡Product Vision
Highlights
David Schlossberg, a former Google PM with 15 years of experience, shares insights on product management.
The interview format includes a live mock interview followed by feedback and closing notes.
Product strategy questions are a mix of business and product design aspects, testing a PM's strategic thinking.
David suggests Google should not launch a direct competitor to Amazon Prime Video but could offer a unique bundle of services.
Google's potential strategy could involve combining ad-free YouTube with Google Music and additional cloud storage.
The importance of distinguishing Google's offering from Amazon Prime's comprehensive package is discussed.
David explains the challenges of competing with established players like Amazon and Netflix in the video content market.
He proposes considering user preferences and leveraging Google's vast data to offer personalized content.
The discussion touches on the potential of offering offline video playback as a unique service differentiator.
David addresses the balance between Google's ad revenue model and the idea of an ad-free subscription service.
The interview explores the strategic decision-making process at Google, with varying degrees of PM autonomy.
The importance of a product manager's ability to think on their feet and adapt to unexpected questions is highlighted.
David reflects on the need for better organization and preparation in responding to interview questions.
The interview wraps up with advice for product managers on how to approach strategic decisions and competition.
The conversation emphasizes the value of product managers having a unique proposition in a competitive market.
David shares his contact information for further questions on product management and coaching opportunities.
Transcripts
hey everyone I believe we're now live at
five this Expo p.m. mock interview and
forgive the lag and at such where that
may happen throughout this interview but
I'm super excited to be here today with
plus was a former Google PM why do you
go ahead and introduce yourself everyone
yeah my name is David Schlossberg I've
been a product manager for about 15
years I started my career in software
development I pretend I'm not really
quickly got my masters and then
discovered this really cool a field
called the product management where I
could take my tech background combine it
with all the fun stuff I learned in my
masters and then since then I have
worked at a ton of startups I worked at
one unicorn one company called Google
and for the past five years have been
managing teams of product managers so
I've got a ton of experience and in the
process of going through product
management interviews hiring people and
I'm happy to be here today awesome cool
we're excited to have you and so for the
viewers who may not know how this works
we are going to do a live mock interview
where I will ask a question to floss
about a certain type of question and
then we'll simulate a real mock
interview after the session we'll do a
little bit of feedback and some closing
just notes and comments throughout this
you are more than welcome to and
encouraged in fact to chime in via the
buttons on the bottom of the screen like
hearts Wow faces whatever you want to
give as well as comments throughout we
love questions we love comments we love
just like thumbs up because it makes us
feel good and makes us feel like this is
worth your time too and you know please
subscribe and like our page as well if
this content is valuable to you so let
me know that we can make more types of
this content
cool so now that we have that out of the
way we'll go ahead and dive into the
interview so in this interview we're
going to do a product strategy question
product strategy questions are kind of a
mixture of a lot of different aspects of
business and also a product design and
they're commonly asked at companies like
Google to test your prime managers
ability to strategically think about the
direction
products and product vision it's a very
important part of product vision so I'll
go ahead and ask the question it's the
question that philosophy are going to do
today is should Google launch a
competitor to Amazon Prime video you can
take it away whenever you ready plus
yeah happy to so the answer is not
specifically they should not watch a
direct competitor to Amazon Prime video
but Google could launch a competing
product to Amazon Prime and what I like
to think about these strategy questions
I always like to think about who are the
actors that are involved in these in
these transactions and how would they be
changed based on this strategic outcome
so let's imagine the world where Google
has this Amazon Prime video competition
and think about a further perspective of
Google from there Google's users and
then from the competitors as well
so from Google Google doesn't like
spending money on content they have this
really cool thing called YouTube where
they get tons and tons of content for
practically free they have watched
premium products in the past before and
even have put like some money into
YouTube production but like they're not
putting in the same kind of money like
some of their competitors are like
Amazon and Netflix who are pouring
hundreds of noise it's not billions of
dollars into into their video production
so like from Google's perspective like
like that's what Mike directly we're
gonna start like producing really
expensive content like that's not
Google's mo that's not the way Google
likes to do things are the respective
like Google users Google there's a lot
of competition that you know these users
can buy their premium video services
from a lot of different companies and
there's already distinguishing things
that like if you go buy for Netflix
you're getting all of Netflix is really
cool it's for content you're getting all
of who who's really cool production
content Gould doesn't have that same
sort of hook that they could get people
with right away so a video alone is not
enough of a thing to get the users to go
to Google's video service over some of
those other competitors services and
just like rap about the competition side
remember that Amazon Prime video is not
just Amazon video it's also free
delivery it's
books it's a whole bunch of other stuff
that you also get on top of your video
so when I say Google should not
specifically compete with Amazon Prime
what I mean is that Google could offer a
different kind of competitive product
like combining ad-free YouTube with a
free subscription to Google music plus
extra cloud storage free apps and a
whole bunch of other stuff that has a
bundle of really cool Google products
that could compete with Amazon Prime and
would actually be something like
distinct and unique from Amazon Prime
and something like that actually could
be really competitive with with Amazon
Prime where Google doesn't have to do
the same kind of massive expenditures on
crazy content and new shows like Amazon
or Hulu or gash lips duster so in this
case you're sort of talking about it may
make sense on a high level but in the
lower level case of just the video
content and it doesn't make sense
correct got it and so it just to follow
up there like what would how would we
think about this let's say that you know
we are deciding that we want to compete
in that space would there be like how
would we think about that decision
strategically you know so you made a
recommendation to cinder he says no I
don't care
I understood wanna do it anyways how
would we think about the product
strategy in that case yeah so in that
case you'd have to ask the question what
would Google need to do that would
convince people that they should use
Google's premium video services either
instead of or in addition to other
premium video services that they use so
for example it's not uncommon it's not
I've heard of that someone has a
subscription to glue it and phonetically
so like when they subscribed to Hulu and
Netflix and Google Video so you know the
main way that these video services have
been competing with each other is by
having unique content that's only
available on their platform that is not
available on the competition's platform
and most of them like I said have done
it through the custom creation of like
new shows and new content that is only
available on
but for YouTube that I think has done
something like that as well and so what
Google could do is say alright we're
gonna take half a billion dollars we're
gonna go hire some really awesome
Hollywood writers and they are going to
go and create all this custom contents
so that the user has really have a
compelling reason to sign up for
Google's video service and and maybe
instead of us some of those other
services so I think like that would be
like the most naive solution it's
something that's like really special or
unique but it has like a very high cost
of entry and it may not be enough to
really convince people you know there's
other options that Google could take to
distinguish their services well like
offering it at a lower price point
Google could perhaps do that if they
could repurpose some of the information
that they get from people about say
their show preferences and turn that
into stuff that can be targeted by
companies who are serving ads at the
other end Google likes to do that with a
lot of their services we're like we
learned a whole bunch about you from a
whole bunch of different services and
then we can get use that to make better
decisions about what to show you
elsewhere throughout Google properties
so it's not gonna be another approach
that Google could take is is to think
about like well like we can maybe offer
it as a cheaper alternative or and in
exchange that you know that your
information is being used perhaps or
targeting you for services driver
Tesla's okay great and thanks for
handling that but follow-up booth that I
just gave you which is fun to do in an
interview and you just came up with an
answer and then I have your key the
other perspective
okay okay I'm curious also just to talk
a little more about like you know so so
in this world where Google is doing this
sort of strategy and something you know
Google losing peanut costs is one of the
big factors that can you know and also
like you're saying content but content
might be a challenging one to compete on
because Google has to get a lot of like
original content that would be a high
upfront cost for Google and are there
other factors that you think would
differentiate a product with Google and
Amazon or maybe like what wouldn't
differentiate Google and Amazon too so
for example like
I can imagine the way the video plays
might not be a key competitive advantage
for for either company perhaps so I'm
curious if to tease out more to push
you'll adjust a little bit more to see
how you might think about the what
matters and what doesn't matter in this
kind of space yeah well let me talk a
little bit about what does not matter so
much sure every all these companies are
generally offering the same kind of
performance like you know you can
download the videos really quickly they
stream at really high quality it's not
like there's like you're gonna offer it
at like if you offer it have like a
1080p resolution versus like a 4k or
something else like that like that's not
significant enough unless you're like
really at the extreme end of someone who
like cares so much about video quality
that like you're gonna notice something
like that most people won't notice
something like that there could be other
smaller ways Google could differentiate
their services like for example maybe
Google could strike some sort of deal
where they allow all the video content
to be played offline on Android devices
we're like yeah something where like you
could kind of tie that into other Google
products and services so a lot of those
other streaming services make film let
you take content offline and so maybe
that'd be like that could be something
that you know if you're a very heavy
mobile user maybe if you're a traveler
like you travel a lot on airplanes where
you don't have a reliable Wi-Fi
connection if you could just download
any video that you want on demand this
guy shows up on your phone that could be
something that differentiates it we
think of what else maybe Google cut out
other kinds of things like for example
if I recall correctly uh I think I was
there in their stadia launch they're
offering some sort of thing where you
can like get three video games like this
if you sign up for their streaming video
game service so maybe go Kouga it off or
something like well you sign up for our
video service and you get to own some of
the video on top of being able to rent
it by so maybe you get to own like by
quote-unquote by one video every month
or some whistle sort of credit and keep
it permanently on top of your monthly
subscription that gets you free
downloadable access so there are like
little things that Google could do that
would differentiate themselves I don't
think any of those significantly changes
the math behind this though like I don't
think so much we just at Google because
they get one free download a month but
maybe they care enough about offline
playing that that is something that
might be more meaningful cool yeah and I
just wanna pause here as we keep going
through this interview if you're
watching we love comments thoughts
reactions likes subscribes all that kind
of good stuff especially if you have any
questions that you like answered by us
or questions that you want to ask
directly as a part of this interview
we'd love to hear that
so do comment below if you're watching
this like we love the interactivity it
really like helps us to so love any any
sort of that kind of thing yeah okay
cool so that we time kind of talked
about that the difference is that world
I'm curious to just poke your brain more
now on switching gears back to the
Google Amazon piece if Google were to
compete with Amazon Prime what are some
unlike the brains terms or dreams that
you would include or leverage maybe and
let thinking about like a google package
versus a prime package yeah yeah I think
Google could take advantage of some of
the other services that Google has and
find ways to package them up together to
make a really compelling offer that you
really just ought to switch to Google
for all of your digital service needs
and that's not me that Amazon and
frankly like a lot of those other
companies will have a really hard time
replicating so some examples of some of
those things would be here's a terabyte
of Google Drive space that cost Google
practically nothing
and most people will not even use it but
if you say like hey Google here's like
my $10 a month for 3d videos plus all
this extra storage space that would be
pretty fantastic other things like add
for you YouTube access to Google music I
think I mentioned that they could give
away free Android applications Google
just has a slew of other products that
are kind of have premium ish services on
top of them and so I think the best way
to to to create like a Google package is
it just takes some of those things and
just like skip them all together and
actually make something that's really
compelling at the outset maybe Coupole
could even go further like hey you get
Google search without ads or as to
browse like other like websites out
there where Google Adsense ads would pop
up maybe some of those just get replaced
with thanks for being the Google
subscribe things like that actually if I
could have some meaningful could be
meaningful for a lot of people
especially people who might be sensitive
to advertisements people who need a lot
of extra data storage yeah III think so
I think that's the best way that Google
can approach this problem is by just
like you take a whole bunch of other
things that doesn't cost Google very
much and then offer them as something
that actually like turns it turns a
so-so video offer and too much like a
pretty fantastic I'm gonna keep you
hooked into the Google ecosystem offer
nice yeah I think I would be really
fascinating the experience if I could
just remove ads from Google like if I
could save money and just get bad to go
away I would be crazy
yeah I wonder I'm curious like why you
think Google maybe wouldn't want to do
that or like what the you know like
let's say like Google couldn't just do
that like we could begin a subscription
service where you pay Google money and
you don't see ads which is kind of what
happens on YouTube with a lot of YouTube
products and why not like that sounds
awesome
no it's an excellent question I think
the short answer is ads are Drupal's
bread-and-butter Google makes nearly all
of its revenue from advertisements and
I'm sure there's like some calculation
you could come up with that like says
like well how much is a person month of
ad revenue like a user month of that
revenue
right so like with all the Google
searches that I do or all the Google Ads
that I see on other publishers web sites
across the web Google probably makes
more than 10 bucks off me in a month
then like the ten bucks I could pay to
Google directly so that right there
would be like the most immediate impact
it also would have downwind impacts -
which is that Google advertisers are
paying Google because they want their
ads place and because they want their
ads seen and clicked so if there's a
service where Google says like well you
can have all of these customers except
for that point that actually makes
Google a less compelling offer for
advertisers and so Google would actually
be kind of gets on throw if they offer
in something like that I'll take that my
idea it's probably not the best thing
for Google just for that for that reason
they advertise it would be very upset
like it would actually make Google a
much worse platform for advertising yeah
I mean yeah depends on of course like
how much traffic again and all that kind
of stuff but like how much traction that
that product gets bit I could imagine
that nuking like Google's core bread and
butter as you said but it's interesting
as intention but the user experience
which might be a lot better you know a
lot of users nowadays they ought to pay
money actually to get rid of their
advertisements and so there's a yeah I
think it's a worthwhile discussion but
very least - it just kind of talked
through those things cool wall I you
know again I know you all are watching
so we haven't gotten any comments yet in
questions but we would love to get your
comments I see some of you watching and
so you know just comment below with just
some thoughts questions ideas even if
it's just you know asking David what's
your product or something you know or
what the ice cream flavors it's just
good to get some of that interaction
back and forth so please do comment
below or give us a like if you're
enjoying this and yeah so David I guess
like the the last piece that you're
going on I'm curious about like you know
from a broader perspective if in general
like how a company should think about
its competitive products like you know
so you know we talked about kind of an
instance in this case of Google and
Amazon but I'm curious saying how do you
generally think about it for product
startups companies etc yeah give me a
sec something about that totally yeah
not an easy question so there's
that come to mind the first one is that
it's always okay to compete with someone
because there's usually room in a market
for more than one product to be
successful there's always a first place
winner the second place company usually
does pretty well too if you're third
fourth fifth and so on like maybe you
you know then you probably need like
something else going for you like you
know maids like you're a secondary or
tertiary product and you're making your
money somewhere else so if there's
always room in a market for lots of
people to compete over the same users
over even the same type of product
specifically we see that all the time
and we're seeing it again like in the
video space is a perfect example where
Netflix and Hulu and YouTube are
capturing those two the revenue but now
there's just a whole like flurry of new
video streaming services that are coming
online very soon and so so there's
always room to like have your your
product in keeping competition the
second that is what's your what's your
niche like what's the what's the thing
that's special or different about your
product that's not that none of the
other products can replicate or would
have a really tough time deprecating so
again to use the video space as an
example it's the content itself that's
actually like the really valuable asset
here so a lot of these movie studios who
are gonna launch their own video
streaming service what they've done is
you can only watch the Marvel movies on
Disney's new exchange service you're not
gonna see it anywhere else and so that's
the reason why you would subscribe to
that service and maybe in addition to
one of the others maybe instead of one
of the others but it's because like I
love Marvel movies so much I'm gonna pay
them my 10 ducks a month to get those
movies so if you are gonna go into
competition it's like especially like in
a space that already has a ton of
competition already you need that thing
that makes you unique that makes you
different it could be the content it
could be the price point it could be a
lot of other things but those are the
two things I would say that are the most
important when you're thinking about the
competition is will you be number one
because if you're not number one then
you need to understand the economics of
not being the first place player in that
space and then what's your unique
proposition that's going to convince
people to use your product and not
someone elses mmm
okay awesome so let's wrap it there I've
done enough putting you on the spot -
huh for now so you give your breath and
yet again I will just queue up if folks
have questions please comment below
there's just questions about key on
being or Google etc we would love to get
your interactions and thoughts and
comments likes and all that kind of good
stuff so we talked a lot about a bunch
of different things I want to kind of
kick it now to the feedback section but
we talked about how that went and sort
of some high-level strategies for the
interview that are given before that do
you have anything that you kind of
wanted to reflect on and how that went
for you and I gave you a lot of
questions and yeah like Before we jump
into you know my thoughts sure sure I
mean definite not my best interview ever
but I think there were surprised you a
lot so I think I was not as organized as
I could have been and some of my
responses I felt like I was struggling
to come up with good ideas for some of
those questions you put me on the spot
if this had been a real interview
session I'd probably have taken a little
bit more time to kind of written down
some ideas and just done a little more
brainstorming in fact like that's often
the feedback that I have for most other
like when I'm helping other people in
the interview process the feedback I
give them most often is take those 30
seconds and make sure you write down
your answers and give make sure you kind
of get the thoughts out of your head
onto paper and I use that as a guide
when you can your responses I think
that's the thing that I I would have
done had this been a quote-unquote real
interview for other than is sort of mock
session yeah yeah yeah I think just if I
wake you got up I didn't mention
plus is also one of our coaches so if
you're looking to interview at companies
like Google as a product manager we have
a team of coaches and exponent that
they're excited and ready to help you a
snap an interview but I totally was
gonna say like I think we you know you
had a lot of great thoughts okay so just
to get rid of all the viewers sense like
I didn't I only we only talked about one
of the first question beforehand
and then I sort of added all that
follow-up myself so kind of
a slice on the spot there but I think
you can know it really well especially
given that you know it was kind of a lot
of that back and forth and pushing you
and pulling you and you know a classic
move that the interviewer will do is
take what you're saying and just say
like argue the opposite side or they do
the other thing and so but I think it
shows to have Damita expertise that
you're able to speak about both sides of
that perspective and yeah I think the
structure for me was like the biggest
piece that I would I would definitely
love and it sounds like you reflected on
it too but just like kind of going
through a list of like okay this is a
reasons why or these are like aspects
why of the competitive nature and like
you know some sort of yeah I don't
really we don't really believe in like
frameworks too much but sort of like
kind of a high level process or map of
going about that question
it would have been helpful so it's like
okay at first we're gonna talk about you
know I think you did a little bit of
that was like cost is one factor then
other vector is like you know um I
forget about that piece but another one
could have been you know okay what are
they the in competition like what are
the risks now what are the risks in the
future rate like what the current
competitors like in the future how will
this change right also thinking about
the president the future maybe could
help frames in those concepts but
overall I think like you know these
products strategy questions are actually
quite new they're like more infrequently
asked at companies like Google they
actually just recently added a section
for it so they're something that you
know everyone's still kind of
experimenting with and there's not a
clear most ruptured approach is like a
product design question so a lot of it
is this kind of back and forth you know
if you were about like okay well why
don't they do that like why don't they
do that I think why should they do that
and I think thinking in your feet and
being able to respond quickly is like a
big part of it as well yeah I definitely
worth everything you just said there I
would note that the the big difference
between like a great product manager
who's interviewing at Google and I know
a pretty good one is the ability to
really think on your feet and stay on
your feet during the course of that
interview the great PM's are the ones
too they don't get flustered or fazed
when you come back around you say like
you said now I'd be the other side of
this question yeah p.m. so the ones who
just are on top of every single answer
and can just jump right in and ending
right at least as as right as as they as
it could be t answer a question like
that mm-hmm
yeah totally I think like that is just
one journal treat that's a really
effective in interviews in general and
so you know keeping your calm your cool
and you know what to navigate that
interview and know that it's going to go
in that direction that you're not
totally comfortable with but you know
it's gonna be a really good way to
showcase that you know as hiring
managers do you want to think I defeat
gotta think quickly if that's right cool
so we I got one comment from the slack
channel that we're in the exponent slash
channel but no comments on the actual
page so again folks maybe it's a slow
day or it's a p.m. on Wednesday and
people are trying to do more fun stuff
than watch the p.m. mock interview but
would love your comments like you know
if you're watching this video right now
please do comment or show reaction or
anything like that so that we can
respond to any of your questions but in
the meantime another question I had is
from the slide channel is how strategic
are the decisions made when product
managers at Google so I got to add live
on this question I'm assuming it kind of
you know there's you decision that gives
me that startups think I can't get that
that's obvious but like what about
strategic decisions made at Google they
do product managers actually gonna say
in those kinds of decisions
yeah that's a great question I can help
answer and see I figured editor view the
quick answer oh I'll tell you for like
my own experience and the answer is it
depends there definitely some teams at
Google like I worked in ads and I worked
in the converse team at different points
and they I've seen it was probably the
most mature part of Google when it comes
to product management and the product
managers are it's very much bottoms-up
managed so the individual product
managers actually get a ton of say on
the strategy and direction and things
like that
compared to other teams in Google which
are much more top-down managed now
that's not to say you don't have like
some sort of say in the strategy or
where things are headed but just that
you know you're probably going to be
given some like very high-level strategy
that you're trying to achieve and like
you
with some other PM's are trying to
figure out how you how you do your part
accomplish that strategy or like I said
is it more about like you know actually
like you're kind of on your own you know
go go figure it out and that's uh that
was definitely how my time with Google
100 just keeps mm-hmm
yeah I think I'm trading what I would
say good point it does depend a lot with
Google such a big company that you can
just get a lot of different kinds of
products and strategies and things like
that like even I'm imagining part of
strategy is like prioritizing which
features to build or like prioritizing
which products to invest time in and
that it is a strategic decision at the
end of the day right like but I do think
that in some aspects of Google or some
aspects of other companies you don't
actually have to interface the business
logic that much so for example if you're
working on a very user facing feature or
a feature that doesn't actually generate
revenue you may need not need to think
too much about the like financial
implications of your product and you may
just like the scope is narrower because
you're kind of thinking less about like
the long-term strategic impact of being
a platform like Android versus being a
like you know 5c a product like the
iPhone and so that's just like a
different nature of how big Google is
basically yeah I would add one last
thing which is I think at Google I had
much more strategic freedoms and pretty
much any other company that I've worked
at so I definitely want you to get the
idea that like you're just gonna get
locked in and doing what you're told
that goo actually far from in fact like
Google really wants great product
managers because they want the way that
you think about problems they want you
to come and actually like try to solve
things and the way that you think are
the best way to do that so like I said
compare so like other companies I've
worked at Google was far more loose in
terms of the way that you know the in
terms of like the ownership that product
managers had compared to like being told
what to do mm-hm
yeah totally yeah I think there's still
a lot of exciting sushi strategic
decisions
we're running up against the 30 minute
mark and it's usually about when I want
to clap cause thanks to those who are
watching I know we didn't maybe get as
many comments this time but something we
got a lot of viewers so who knows but if
you do have any other comments or
thoughts or questions um what's the best
way to reach out to you or you know is
there anything else you want to plug for
Neosho yeah of course yeah if you want
to get in touch with me you can always
go to my website Sumeet org th e + e 8e
o RG and my email is dave at that
address so I'm happy to answer any
questions you all might have and you can
see a whole bunch of content on that
website regarding issues in product
management design and tech at least cool
yeah and for those of you in exponent
losses in this life channel as well so
you can voice DM and directly there or
you can always reach out to me or
schlotz
to get a coaching session if you're
interested in any sort of p.m. interview
prep if you're preparing for your
upcoming interview without with that I
think we're sort of on a wrap so thanks
so much fluffer do this probably
strategy interview I hope you had fun I
had fun and I hope everyone else
watching you have fun as well yeah just
great thanks very much thanks a room
right
浏览更多相关视频
The Technical, Business and UX Skills Every Product Manager Needs
Google product manager behavioral interview (Top 5 questions)
Google PM Interview: Google Maps Korea Launch
Dan Olsen "How to Create Your Product Strategy" at the 2018 NYC Product Leader Summit
What is Product Management? Lifecycle, Tools and Main Roles
Product Strategy Mock Interview with Eashan Kadam, Product Manager at Exponentia.ai
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)